Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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JNK vs SLV: Differences, Returns & Fees

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JNK is a bond index fund and SLV a commodity fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SLV returned +14.9% against +1.7%.

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Net assets: $5.9bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street SPDR Bloomberg High Yield Bond ETF, and $26.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Silver Trust.

At a glance
+1.7%
JNK total return, 1 year
+14.9%
SLV total return, 1 year
0.40%
JNK expense ratio
0.50%
SLV expense ratio

Pair scorecard

JNK costs 0.10 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 13.2 points; SLV is 4.5 times larger.

JNK vs SLV: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureJNKSLV
Return
Total return, 1 year+1.7%+14.9%
Drawdown
Below its high53.5%, high on Jan 28, 2026
Benchmark
What it tracksBloomberg High Yield Very Liquid IndexSilver
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.40%0.50%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026$5.9bn$26.5bn
Holdings
Holdings in commonnot published

Method

Risk and return

Dec 14, 2007 to Oct 23, 2026 · 984 weekly returns
JNK SLV
Return
Total return edge SLV +141.3% +254.6%
Annualized edge SLV +4.8% +6.9%
Price return edge SLV −35.6% +254.6%
Risk
Volatility edge JNK 12.7% 32.5%
Max drawdown edge JNK −38.4% −75.2%
Downside capture 35.8% 100.2%
Beta 1.16 1.00
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge SLV (slight) 0.32 0.33
Sortino edge SLV (slight) 0.43 0.47
Treynor 0.035 0.107
Calmar edge JNK 0.12 0.09
Against the benchmark
Alpha +2.4% a year −0.2% a year
Alpha t-stat 0.94 −0.92
Information ratio 0.24 −0.19
Tracking error 11.1% 0.8%

Each against its own benchmark: JNK against AGG, Dec 14, 2007 to Oct 23, 2026; SLV against SIVR, Jul 31, 2009 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

SLV returned more: +254.6% to +141.3%. JNK swung less: 12.7% to 32.5%. JNK fell less at its worst: −38.4% to −75.2%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured
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Risk and return: JNK vs SLV: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureJNKSLVEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+141.3%+254.6%SLVPrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+4.8%+6.9%SLVTotal return as a yearly rate.
Price return−35.6%+254.6%SLVPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility12.7%32.5%JNKSpread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation9.4%22.8%JNKLike volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−38.4%−75.2%JNKDeepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture54.4%100.2%Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture35.8%100.2%Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta1.161.00Not an edgeHow far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared0.241.00Not an edgeShare of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.320.33SLV (slight)Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino0.430.47SLV (slight)Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor0.0350.107Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar0.120.09JNKAnnualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
BenchmarkAGGSIVRThe ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha+2.4% a year−0.2% a yearNot significantYearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat0.94−0.92Not an edgeHow sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range−2.6% to +7.4%−0.6% to +0.2%Includes zeroThe 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio0.24−0.19Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error11.1%0.8%Not an edgeHow far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 984 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

Side by side

JNK State Street SPDR Bloomberg High Yield Bond ETF SLV iShares Silver Trust
Where it sits Bond ETF Commodity ETF
What it is Tracks the Bloomberg High Yield Bond Holds silver
Total return, 1 year +1.7% +14.9%
Its benchmark over the same days −1.4% (AGG) +15.0% (SIVR)
Gap to its benchmark +3.1 pts vs AGG −0.1 pts vs SIVR
Expense ratio 0.40% 0.50%
Holdings 1142 not counted
Net assets, JNK as of Oct 27, 2026 and SLV as of Oct 28, 2026 $5.9bn $26.9bn

JNK and SLV on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-F4160BB096

JNK and SLV do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

  1. What each follows. JNK follows Bloomberg High Yield Very Liquid Index and SLV follows Silver.
  2. One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 JNK returned +1.7% and SLV +14.9% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 13.2 points.
  3. Cost. JNK charges 0.40% of assets a year and SLV 0.50%, a gap of 0.10 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund
JNK

JNK tracks the Bloomberg High Yield Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.7% with distributions reinvested, against −1.4% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.40% a year.

SLV

Its expense ratio is 0.50% a year, for the three months to Jun 30, 2026, as its 10-Q states.

SLV holds silver. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.9% with distributions reinvested, against +15.0% for its benchmark, the price of silver. It sat 53.5% below its high of Jan 28, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, JNK or SLV?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, JNK returned +1.7% and SLV +14.9%.
Which is cheaper, JNK or SLV?
JNK is cheaper, by 0.10 percentage points a year. That is about $10 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.
Other comparisons
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ETFIQ, JNK against SLV, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/jnk-vs-slv

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